Let it Snow
by MalllladeImaginaire
Summary: Winter in the junk yard changes the lives of all the jellicles. For a start, everything is a lot more difficult. They find themselves struggling to do the simplest of things and having many snowy adventures in the process. xx (This used to be on my old account, but I've re-posted it on this one ;) )
1. Winter in the Junkyard

**Authors Note**

_I'm not actually sure where I'm going with this. I just felt like writing this because of the weather where I am (It's been snowing all day!). The next chapters are going to be about the individual cats and their experiences/adventures in the snow. I hope you like it and all feedback is welcome! Thanks for reading!_

_I do not own any of the characters!_

It was snowing and had been for the past few days. Snow coated the rubbish heaped all around the junk yard and turned everyday objects into strange, towering, monstrous shapes that loomed high into the sky and threw bizarre shadows onto the ground. The world had become a sketchy grey and white haze, with little definition. Distances were harder to judge and the perspective seemed wrong in the subdued light that fell through the thick grey clouds. It was as if not only sound was muffled by the snow; light seemed to be absorbed by it, leaving a strangely two-dimensional seeming world in it's wake.

The surfaces had also become slippery and ice was causing the cats a real problem. It made it much harder to get anywhere, as in some places climbing was made nearly impossible and some of the narrower walkways were just to treacherous to risk using. Many of the cats found themselves slipping and falling, unable to control their paws on the sheet ice. It was dangerous to attempt even the smallest of jumps and many of the cats who had tried it had found themselves falling into the snow below. Luckily, no one had been seriously hurt, but it had made them cautious. Now they moved slowly and with care, judging every foothold carefully to see if it was indeed safe, as not everything was as it seemed beneath the blanket of snow. All too often a stable seeming foothold turned out to be nothing more that a pile of loose, powdery snow that gave way beneath the cats' paws and sent them slipping and sliding down the piles of rubbish, often causing a miniature avalanche in their wake. This as the cats had learned was very dangerous. Twice they had been forced to dig one of the kittens out of a snowdrift which had buried them as a result of a snow slide and once Admetus had only just made it out of the way in time, as snow cascaded down, taking rubbish with it, to crash onto the floor with surprising force.

As if this wasn't enough, the snow caused them even more problems. Rats and mice had become scarce, most of them not braving the cold and snow, but hiding in warm holes and tunnels indoors until winter had passed. For the cats with families this didn't cause too much of a problem. When they were hungry they could just return home, where a tasty meal was waiting for them. It was the cats without a human family that struggled. They were the ones most affected by the cold, lack of food and the terrible weather conditions. They were the ones that suffered most.

Not that it was all bad. Many of the cats, especially the younger ones, found the snow exciting. It made them feel intrepid and adventurous, not to mention being fun to play in. They spent endless hours playing hide-and-seek (which was made considerably harder by the fact they left footprints in the snow where ever they went) and wrestling in the snow. Their new favourite game was sneaking up on the older cats and pouncing on them from behind, as the snow made it a lot harder to hear them coming. They would then run off, slipping and sliding and laughing, only to start their game all over again, sneaking up on another unsuspecting victim..

Whichever way they looked at it, however, whether they enjoyed it or not, the snow had a huge effect on the lives of all the jellicle cats...


	2. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

_Ok, so this chapter is about Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. I hope you like it and all feedback is welcome! Thanks for reading! And thanks to the people who have already reviewed/followed this story. Luv you guys! x _

_Also I noticed that in Chapter 1 I put 'shaped' (line 1) instead of 'shapes'. Sorry about that typing error, I didn't pick up on it til today._

_I do not own any of the characters!_

"Teaz, keep up would ya!" Mungojerrie turned to look over his shoulder. " 'ow are we sposed ter get anyfink done if yer keep stoppin all the time?"

Rumpleteazer, who was lagging behind to admire her reflection in a shop window as she went past, hurried to catch him up, "Oi'm sorry, Jerrie, Oi'm comin'."

"Wotcher need ter keep stoppin' for any road?", the tom rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "It ain't like yer've never seen yer own reflection before!"

"Aw, Jerrie. Oi'm comin' ain't Oi? Oi were just checkin' me fur looked arright. Ain't nuffink wrong wiv that," Rumpleteazer trotted past him and leapt off up the road, "now look 'oo's bein' slow!" She gave her partner in crime a smug look over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him. She was so busy teazing Mungojerrie, she failed to look where she was going and hit a patch of ice. Letting out a shrill shriek, Rumpleteazer slipped, skidded sideway, tripped over her own paws and landed on her back in the gutter in the freezing snow. She was just hauling herself to her feet and trying to brush the snow off her fur when a car sped past, drenching her from head to toe in icy slush. Rumpleteazer leapt to her feet with an ear-piercing shriek and skidded back onto the pavement.

Mungojerrie, who had only just managed to stop himself from laughing when his friend slipped, snorted with laughter, trying in vain not to snigger at her. But at the sight of Rumpleteazer stood there, icy slush dripping from her ears and tail, absolutely drenched, Mungojerrie couldn't control himself. He let out a howl of laughter.

Rumpleteazer fixed him with a stare almost as icy as the water she was covered in, "Blimey, Jerrie! Pack it in. It ain't funny! It could 'ave 'appened ter anybody."

"Yer fur looks great now, Teaz," Mungojerrie choked, "It right suits yer! Yer should 'ave it like that all the time! Oi ain't never seen yer lookin' so nice." This said he doubled over laughing again.

"Oh, shut it, Jerrie. Oi fought yer were the one 'oo said we needed ter get on, right? And any road it wasn't that funny," Rumpleteazer hissed, slightly put out by the fact he was laughing at her, "now are we gonna stay standin' 'ere all day?! Oi'm frozen and 'aven't we got a bit ter do before tonight?"

With a huge effort Mungojerrie pulled himself together and stopped laughing. "Ok, oi spose yor right. Oi don't see no point standin' out in the cold, any road. Come on, Teaz. The sooner yer get inside and get dry the better. Yer'll catch a chill out 'ere in the snow all soakin' wet like that." He set off walking again and Rumpleteazer fell into step next to him shivering slightly. Mungojerrie moved closer to her and she gratefully snuggled against him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Jerrie." Together they walked on down the street.

Snow had started to fall again, covering the two cats in soft white flakes. Snowflakes danced around them as they walked and the blizzard almost hid them from view altogether. The world became nothing more than a shifting white cloud. The road, the houses, the street lamps, even the pavement ceased to exist for the two cats. They could have been all alone but for the gentle hum of traffic in the far distance.

"Jerrie?", Rumpleteazer whispered. She moved away from him slightly and looked up at him. "Oi'm really cold." And with that she shivered again.

"No wonder yer cold, yer got soaked in icy water. Wot did yer expect." Noticing the upset look on Rumpleteazer's face Mungojerrie quickly continued: "We're nearly there any road. There ain't nuffink ter worry about. We can go inside soon and yer can get dry." He looked around, looking for their destination. Unfortunately, it was snowing so hard it was difficult to see his own paws, let alone identify a specific house. "Hey, Teaz, 'ow are we gonna find the right 'ouse? Oi can't spot anyfink in this snow storm! We could go right past it and not see nuffink!"

Judging by the shocked expression on her face this hadn't occurred to Rumpleteazer yet either. "Blimey, yor right. Wot are we gonna do, then?" She glanced around her. "Oi really can't see nuffink. Wot if we miss it?"

"The way Oi see it, we've got ter walk along closer ter the houses. We can't spot anyfink 'ere. If we get closer we should be able ter work out where we are and recognize the right bloomin' 'ouse," by now Mungojerrie was getting quite fed up and quite cold himself. "Standin' 'ere goin' on ain't getting us anywhere!"

They hurried in what they hoped was the direction of the houses and soon enough came across a neat little front garden. "This way!", Mungojerrie called. Together they jumped the low garden wall and hurried through the snowy flowerbeds to the front door, which was luckily equipped with a porch.

"At least it ain't snowin' on us 'ere," Rumpleteazer commented, "so wot do we do now?" She looked up at the house they were sheltering by. " 'ey, ain't this the 'ouse we're lookin' for? Oi'm sure it is!"

Mungojerrie looked up at it as well. A blue painted front door with brass letterbox and door handle – that was right. Blue window frames, creamy white net curtains and empty black window boxes – they were right as well. Something didn't seem quite right about it though. "Look 'ere, are yer sure this is the place? It don't look quite right ter me. Oi fought the house we were lookin' for was white."

"Are yer blind? This one is white. Now can we just get inside before Oi freeze ter deaff out 'ere." Poor Rumpleteazer's teeth were chattering by now. "Oi spent forever wotchin' at this 'ouse. Oi know it's the right one! Oi checked the number. This is number six. It's definitely the right 'ouse. " In all honesty, she hadn't in fact checked the number, but was cold and wet and fed up and she _was _about 90% sure it was the right house.

Her partner nodded: "Ok, if yer say so. Let's go!" He surveyed the house. "They won't 'ave any open windows or doors in this wevver. There ain't no cat flap. Oi fink the chimney's our best bet."

And with that he set off towards the roof. After a brief pause Rumpleteazer followed. From the front door they leapt onto the window box of the window to the right of the door, carefully avoiding any loose snow and making sure to land on firm footing. From there they clambered up the ivy, that conveniently grew up the front of the house until they reached the porch roof. The porch was very icy, but with great care the two burglars managed to cross the roof without catastrophe. It was a bit hard in the blizzard to see where they were going, but Rumpleteazer trusted Mungojerrie to find a safe way up. He jumped onto another window sill and from there used the ivy to climb up to just below the roof. Hooking his paws into the gutter he heaved himself up and over onto the house roof. Then as soon as Mungojerrie had made it up he turned back to help his mate up next to him.

"Careful crossin' the roof, Oi fink it's covered in ice and Oi don't fancy fallin'," Rumpleteazer commented and with that the pair made their way towards the chimney. She hadn't been wrong. From the first step they struggled to stop themselves slipping back down the sloping roof and really had to dig their claws in to prevent themselves from falling.

"This is 'arder than it looks!", Mungojerrie panted. "Oi sure 'ope we're nearly at the top! Me paws are startin' to 'urt!" Rumpleteazer could only nod in reply, she was rather out of breath.

"Oi'm...", Mungojerrie began, but he never managed to finish his sentence. He had put his paw on a particularly slippery tile. His claws could no longer get a grip and he began to slide down towards the edge of the roof. "Teaz!"

Rumpleteazer looked round. "Jerrie! Grab me paw!" She streched out and just managed to get a hold on his ear with her claws.

"Ow! Blimey! That 'urt!", Mungojerrie yelped, but managed to get a hold on the roof again with his claws. "Thanks, Teaz!", he grinned.

"Didn't Oi tell yer ter be careful?", his friend demanded. "Now can we 'urry up please!"

Without further incident the two cats made it to the chimney. They stood poised on the edge. "After yer," Mungojerrie offered, "ladies first." Rumpleteazer gave him a withering look and jumped down the chimney. For a while you could here her claws scratching on brick but then all was silent. Mungojerrie waited a moment, listening. The coast seemed clear, so he took a deep breath and leapt after Rumpleteazer. Inside the chimney it was warm and dark and the soot made Mungojerrie sneeze. He landed at the bottom after a brief fall in a large cloud of black soot and dust. Rumpleteazer giggled. "Elegant, Jerrie!"

"Ssh," he hissed back, "there might be people about." Getting to his feet he shook the soot out his fur and stepped out the grate. "What room's it in?"

"It's on the bottom floor in the room facin' the road," Rumpleteazer answered. She was using the curtains to dry her wet fur. "Nice place they've got 'ere." Having dried her fur she made her way over to the dressing table and began pulling out draws. "Might as well see if their's anyfink worff nickin' in 'ere. Yer know, just cos we're 'ere any road ."

Mungojerrie rolled his eyes and made his way over to the doorway. There he stopped and listened carefully. Not a sound. The coast seemed to be clear. With practised ease, he leapt up and turned the door handle. With a slight squeak the door swung open. The landing was also empty and when he peered down the stairs there was no movement below. "Teaz, are yer comin'?" Mungojerrie turned back to the room he'd just left. All he could see of his partner in crime was her bottom and tail sticking up out of an open drawer. Clothes littered the floor and were draped over every surface in the room. "Wotcher ffink yor doin'?"

The rest of Rumpleteazer popped out of the drawer in a shower of underpants. "Wot? Oh, Oi was just lookin' for a mirror." She had at least four strings of pearls hanging round her neck. "Oi found these. Just wanted ter see 'ow Oi look." She shook a stray pair of pants of her head and extracted herself from the drawer. "Sorry I'm comin'." She looked around the room and giggled. "Oi fink Oi might 'ave wrecked their room."

Despite himself Mungojerrie laughed, "Oi fink yer might 'ave done, Teaz." He beckoned to her and she joined him on the landing, the pearls still round her neck. "So it's down there. Oi fink if we slide down the banisters we'll be quickest. But we 'ave ter be careful. They 'ave an 'uge dog, right?"

Rumpleteazer nodded. "Yer lead the way. Oi'll follow yer. We'd better be quick. They might be back soon. They should be walkin' that 'orrible dog now, but they might come back sooner in this wevver. We ain't got no way of knowin' wen they'll be 'ome."

This said the pair of burglars set off downstairs. One at a time they leapt up onto the shiny, oak banisters and digging in their claws for balance and to slow themselves down they slid down to the floor below, leaving long scratch marks in the beautiful wood. As soon as he reached the bottom Mungojerrie let himself drop to the ground and froze looking around. "Oi fink this floor's clear too. Oi can't 'ear nuffink. Nobody's 'ome." He took a closer look at some of the rooms. There was a rather nice library, a bathroom, two bedrooms and some sort of gallery full of vases and china with a beautiful piano in the corner. The first four rooms he ignored, they were of little interest. It was the gallery that attracted his attention.

"Hey, Teaz, 'ave a look! Vases! Do yer fink if Oi knock this one off, it'll knock the others off too? It'd make a terrible mess..." He grinned a slightly evil grin and jumped against the first vase. It began to wobble, slowly at first but then more violently as Mungojerrie pushed it again. Slowly it tipped, resting for a second on it's edge before falling. As it fell it smashed into the vase next to it, which in turn crashed into the next vase. Soon all the vases were smashing and falling and making a horrible mess everywhere, just as Mungojerrie had predicted. The noise was deafening. When the dust finally settled the room looked like a battlefield. Pieces of vases were lying everywhere, some of the shelves had fallen off the walls and the curtains had been torn down. One of the pictures had fallen down and the piano lid had slammed causing it to crack, revealing several broken keys. "Oops," said Mungojerrie with a grin.

It was Rumpleteazer's turn to roll her eyes. "Come on, Jerrie. We need ter hurry. If they find us 'ere we're dead. 'ave a look at all the mess we've made!" She giggled with delight.

The two cats made their way down to the ground floor, leaving more claw marks in another banister.

"It's through there. But the kitchen is just next to it. We could see if there's anyfink worff nickin'. Just wile we're 'ere any road," Rumpleteazer said. And without waiting for an answer she headed off into the kitchen.

By the time Mungojerrie had caught her up she was already busy raiding the cupboards. "There ain't nuffink worff eatin' apart from this cold chicken." Rumpleteazer jumped down off the side holding the bowl in her mouth, knocking off several things in the process. "Oops," she commented when she had put the bowl down, glancing at the food spilled all over the floor, "ah well, 'oo'd want ter eat that 'orrible rubbish any road." With a laugh she shared out the food between them. "Right, now let's go and find it!"

They left the now messy kitchen behind them and wandered into the sitting room. Mungojerrie went first. "Ok, yer find it. Oi'll find us a way out of 'ere."

While Rumpleteazer ransacked the room, destroying most of the furniture in the process, Mungojerrie jumped up onto the window sill. The window was shut but not bolted. With a grin he pushed on the glass. It was always so much easier when people forgot to bolt the windows. It spared him the trouble of having to smash the glass. The window swung open easily, letting in a burst of cold air. Mungojerrie shivered.

At that moment Rumpleteazer called out behind him: "Oi've got it!" She was stood in a corner of the room and Mungojerrie jumped down to join her.

"Brilliant! A battery powered 'eater! We'll never be cold again!" They grinned happily at each other. "Maybe the rest of this winter won't be so bad after all!" And with that Mungojerrie hoisted the heater onto his back and the pair of burglars disappeared out of the window, to be swallowed up by the blizzard, leaving only chaos and a cold house behind them!


	3. Skimbleshanks

It was one o'clock in the morning. All of the Jellicle cats were tucked up nice and warm in their beds. All, that is to say, except one. As the others slept, Skimbleshanks was heading north on the Midnight Mail.

Outside it was bitterly cold. Snow whipped round the train as she struggled her way up yet another snow-covered hill. Skimbleshanks sighed. It was going to be another of _those _trips, he could just feel it. They had got off to a bad start. The snow had delayed almost all the trains, forcing the Midnight Mail to wait until 12.24 to set off on her journey. To the Railway Cat this was bordering on catastrophic. Never before in all his time on the Midnight Mail had she been so late. _His _train, running _late_! It was unthinkable!

But things hadn't stopped there. At 12.47 a group of travellers in third class had got rather loud and unruly. They had started singing and laughing and had point blank refused to quieten down when Skimbleshanks had fixed them with his unblinking glare. In the end he had been forced to go and fetch one of the guards before they disturbed the whole carriage.

And as if that hadn't been bad enough, Skimbleshanks had caught the new guard forgetting to ask several of the passengers about their morning tea before they retired for the night. Yet another thing he had been forced to put right. The orange tabby shook his head. Without him the humans really were hopeless.

He had also found several dozen mice hiding in one of the carriages and had had to spend a good half hour catching them all. Well, strictly speaking he hadn't found them. He had been alerted to their presence by a female passenger screaming and fainting, which had caused quite a commotion; people running around trying to be helpful and actually just getting in the way and causing a frightful racket. It had then, of course, taken a further hour to calm the passengers down and escort them back to their berths.

That done he had checked once more that everything was in order and was now finally sat in his favourite corner with a cup of nice hot tea watching the snow swirl past the train window. On reflection, Skimbleshanks thought to himself, it really wasn't good enough. A little bit of snow and all these humans seemed to panic completely and start making a mess of the most simple things. It just wouldn't do! How could he be expected to keep the train running smoothly if the humans wouldn't do their jobs properly. After all, he was only one cat, he couldn't be expected to do _everything _by himself. Skimbleshanks sighed and took another sip of tea. Humans could be really trying sometimes!

Suddenly the train jerked to an abrupt halt, letting out a high-pitched squeal and a shriek of metal grinding on metal. Skimbleshanks was thrown several feet across the carriage into a stack of suitcases. His tea spilled everywhere, the cup flying out of his paw and smashing against the wall opposite. All the lights on the train went out.

Cursing the tabby extracted himself from the pile of cases. Another job for him to do - re-stack the suitcases that had fallen over. The bagmen just couldn't be trusted to do it properly. They were always too busy playing cards to do any proper work and when they actually remembered to do any they were never careful enough with the luggage and never stacked it properly. Skimbleshanks reflected, if _he _had stacked the cases in the first place, they would never have fallen over when the train stopped suddenly.

But first things first. He had to find out what was going on. Glancing at his watch Skimbleshanks calculated that they couldn't possibly have reached Crewe yet. They weren't due to arrive there for at least another half hour. But then why had they stopped?

Skimbleshanks made his way out into the corridor. It was pitch black. The Railway Cat shook his head. Trust the guards to forget to light a lamp! He made his way over to where he knew the lamps were kept, in case of just such an emergency and removed one from the cupboard. This he lit and placed on a handy table nearby. Then he looked around, taking in the scene.

The snow was falling more heavily than ever outside the window. Now that the sound of the engine had died away the noise of the wind whistling and howling around the train was clearly audible. It was starting to get quite cold and Skimbleshanks assumed the heating must have gone off when the lights did. People were starting to fill the corridor, attracted by the light. They were pushing and shoving and many of them were shouting or crying. Even the guards seemed to have succumbed to the panic that had gripped the occupants of the Midnight Mail. They were rushing around panicking and shouting, just like the passengers.

Skimbleshanks drew himself up to his full height. This would not do, no, it would not do _at all_! It was unacceptable behaviour! They had a job to do and no time to waste behaving like frightened children. As workers on _his _train, Skimbleshanks expected the guards to behave in a calm, professional manner, no matter what. What must the passengers think! 

He pushed his way through the crowd to where some of the guards were stood. None of them were paying any attention to the frightened passengers. They were talking and shouting at each other. Arguing amongst the staff, not taking control of the situation and ignoring the passengers when they needed help was highly unprofessional! Skimbleshanks vowed to complain to the stationmaster when they got back to London. These so called guards would be looking for new jobs soon if Skimbleshanks had anything to do with it! The Midnight Mail didn't need that kind of worker, thank you very much!

He jumped up next to them and hissed: "Whit dae ye hink yoo're daein'? Stop behavin' loch frightened schoolboys an' dae ye jobs! Go an' sort it th' passengers. Take them back tae their berths an' teel them it's a wee delay due tae th' weaither an' we'll be aff again suin. Teel them it's naethin' tae panic abit an' tae try an' gie back tae sleep." Startled, all the guards turned and stared at the orange tabby.

One of them shook his head: "You'd almost think he disapproves of us or something!"

"Maybe he's right. What are we doing standing here talking? Let's get the passengers back to bed. We'll just tell them it's a short delay due to the weather and we'll be off again soon. If we just stop them worrying and hand out extra blankets everything should be fine," another of the men suggested, "we don't want them all panicking now, do we."

With a plan of action formulated the guards seemed to regain their composure. They stopped talking and went over to deal with the passengers, escorting them back to their berths. Several guards fetched extra blankets to hand out to the frozen people.

Satisfied that he had at least for now sorted the travellers and the guards, Skimbleshanks decided the best course of action would be to check on the driver and the engine. If there was anything to be found out about why they had stopped the driver was probably his best bet. Picking up the lantern in his mouth Skimbleshanks made his way towards the front of the train.

As soon as he drew near the engine he could make out raised voices. Skimbleshanks recognised the voice of the driver: "We can't go on! We're snowed in!"

An unknown voice answered heatedly: "Well, we have to go on. You have to find a way! I don't care how you do it but I want to get this train moving again. If you don't I can always find a new driver who _can_ cope with bad weather conditions!" With that a small, nasty-looking man stormed past Skimbleshanks and off down the corridor.

Skimbleshanks walked over to the driver and rubbed his head against his leg. The driver looked down. "Well, hello there, old friend. We're in trouble now. If I don't get this train moving I'll lose my job. I don't see what I can do, though. We're snowed in. There _is_ nothing I can do." He sighed and put his head in his hands. "Just as well for you you're just a cat. You don't have these problems, do you old friend. What am I to do? I need this job! If I lose it I can't afford to pay rent on our house. My wife and children will be homeless." And with that he burst into tears and buried his face in his hands once again.

Skimbleshanks was furious. Instead of trying to find a solution the driver had given up! Skimbleshanks was prepared to bet he hadn't even been out to check the situation. Maybe the snow wasn't as bad as it seemed and they could dig a way through. Also, he had been downright condescending! Just a cat! How dare he! The Railway Cat snarled: "Pull yerself together. Ye can't jist sit haur cryin'. Th' train needs tae gie oan 'er way again. Someain has tae gang it an' see hoo bad th' snaw is!" When the driver didn't react Skimbleshanks let out an angry hiss of: "Fine, I'll jist gang an' dae it myself 'en!" And with that he leaped out of the window into the icy blizzard.

Fuming, Skimbleshanks made his way through the snow. He always had to do _everything_! The humans were hopeless! If it hadn't been for him there would have been a mass panic and no one would have bothered to check the situation outside. Humans were just so unreliable! How they ever got anything done was completely beyond him.

It was bitterly cold and the snow almost blinded him, but Skimbleshanks battled on until he reached the front of the engine. They appeared to have run into a massive snowdrift, which seemed to have slid down off a nearby hill to block the tracks. Skimbleshanks walked round it and examined it from all angles. It was quite a large drift, but the snow was loose and powdery. If several humans worked on it with shovels they could have the tracks cleared in about an hour, best guess. He looked ahead along the tracks. No other blockages were visible, meaning if they could just get this snow cleared they could go on without a problem.

Skimbleshanks quickly retraced his steps and jumped back in through the open window. From there he went straight to the cupboard that contained the snow shovels. Jumping up he managed to open the door and get the handle of a shovel in his mouth. This he dragged over and dropped at the driver's feet. The later just stared at it in shock.

"Don't jist sit thaur looingk at it! The drift isn't 'at big. If we organize some men tae clear it we shoods be able tae gie movin' again in abit an hoor. But we need tae hoorie afair th' snaw gits onie waur!", Skimbleshanks told him, "git oan wi' it. What ur ye waitin' fur?"

At this the driver looked up. "Skimble, you clever cat! You're right! If we get some men together we can maybe clear the tracks of snow! Someone should maybe check the line first though..."

Skimbleshanks rolled his eyes. Did the driver really think he hadn't already done that?

In no time a party was arranged to go out and clear the drift. About ten men all armed with snow shovels and lanterns, wrapped up warm in coats and hats and scarves. Naturally, Skimbleshanks led the way. He was the only one, after all, who knew where the drift was and what needed clearing.

As the man set to work Skimbleshanks perched himself on one of the train's buffers. From here he had a relatively good view of the men working, even if it was partially obscured by the swirling snow. This was very helpful as when he saw them slacking could fix his bright green eyes on them and glare, so they soon took up their work again.

This way the drift was cleared in no time. After about 45 minutes the men had finished their work and Skimbleshanks, shivering slightly, led the way back inside. The lights and the heating were all back on by now and the train was ready to go.

Skimbleshanks headed back to his favourite corner. Couldn't the humans get anything done without him? As the Midnight Mail set off again through the blizzard the Railway Cat helped himself to another cup of tea and if anyone had bothered to look closely they would have noticed an ever so slightly smug smile on his face.


End file.
